By Nina Vaught
Vaught Usability Group, LLC
May, 2007
What’s Scaring Online Shoppers?
Identity theft, storefront scams and exploitation of personal information all cast a shadow over consumer confidence with online buying. Other concerns like poor product quality, bad customer service, inflexible return policies, late gift delivery, and high shipping costs also dampen enthusiasm for Internet shoppers.
According to a national survey released by Consumer Reports WebWatch at the end of 2005, consumers are uneasy about the safety of online buying.
- 53% said they have stopped giving out personal information on the Internet
- 54% say they are now more likely to read a site’s privacy policy before buying 80% reported they were ‘somewhat concerned’ about identity theft
- 88% percent said keeping personal information safe and secure is very important
Despite the trepidation, online sales are increasing in leaps and bounds from year to year. Online sales in 2006 jumped 24% over 2005 to $102.1 billion with no prediction of leveling off for 2007. Websites that put forth an effort to portray a positive professional image and foster trust and credibility with online shoppers will increasingly win sales over sites that unwittingly overlook basic common problems that erode consumer confidence.
Here are some confidence-building tactics that will improve your online image of credibility and trustworthiness for higher sales, and a leg up over your competition.
Look like a legitimate business
First and foremost – don’t play hide-n-seek with your phone number. When we ask people what frustrates them most on websites, ‘no telephone number’ is most often at the top of the list. Users want to know they can talk with a real person if they have questions or problems with their orders.
Prominently display your telephone number on every page. Offer a toll-free number if possible. Keep the number visible throughout the shopping cart and checkout, and invite users to call if they have problems or want to place an order by phone.
Even for the majority of users who don’t call, providing a telephone number fosters immediate credibility, implies good service, and makes them more comfortable doing business with you.
In addition to providing a prominent telephone number, include your physical address on your Contact Us page to show you are a real business. Sites providing only a P.O. Box raise a red flag for hesitant buyers.
Include a picture of your physical business facility if appropriate and don’t forget to list memberships like your local Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau.
Offer a strong guarantee
Buyers feel more confident purchasing from vendors with strong guarantees. If you don’t have a guarantee or have a flimsy, company-focused guarantee, come up with the best possible customer-focused guarantee that is reasonable for your business. Phrase it in positive terms, stating what you will do rather than what you won’t do. Our users report the most effective guarantees are lowest price and satisfaction guaranteed, coupled with a no hassle and convenient return policy.
Don’t leave it up to customers to hunt for your guarantee. Provide a visible link and promote it prominently throughout the website for constant assurance. Here’s an excellent example from the Lands’ End Website.
Assure safety and security
To most users, privacy and security of their personal and financial information equates to the same thing, so provide both on the same page and name the link Privacy & Security Policy. Make sure your policies are customer-focused. In other words, focus the language on protecting the customer, not yourself.
At the first point of action where you ask users to enter personal information, place a brief statement about your concern for their privacy with a link to your full privacy policy. To put buyers at ease about the security of their financial information, also display proof of a secure connection. Include the image for the security service you use (VeriSign, Thwarte, etc.). Icons create a stronger emotional response than words – so include both. Here’s an example of a brief privacy/security assurance and indication of a secure transaction:
Respect buyers’ privacy
Remove requests for information that is not needed to process your buyers’ order. If you want to collect more user data, ask after customers have completed their purchase, make it optional, and tell them what’s in it for them. If there’s nothing in it for your customer, either don’t ask for the information or offer an incentive to let them know you value their assistance.
Give delivery information
Don’t wait until a buyer receives the order acknowledgment to talk about delivery. State expected shipping and delivery time as soon as possible – in the shopping cart if not on the product page.
During gift-buying holidays like Valentines Day and Christmas, state the deadline for orders to arrive by the approaching holiday on your homepage. Let users know on the product page and shopping cart if an item is on backorder and earliest time of arrival.
Charge fair shipping rates
Bumping up profit with inflated shipping charges is a poor strategy. Buyers are astute at comparing vendor charges for the shipping of like items, and are very sensitive to being gouged.
Display shipping charges up front before customers enter personal and financial information so they aren’t surprised by the shipping fees as the sale is finalized. More and more shoppers comparison shop by throwing items in the carts of different vendors and go with the seller with the best shipping rates. If shipping fees don’t show up when they put an item in the cart, they often abandon the site and don’t return.
Even if you offer free standard shipping, offer multiple shipping options at a fair price.
Fix errors
Errors undermine your credibility and professionalism. Comb your site for typos, outdated information, broken links or inconsistencies and fix the problems.
By taking the time to view your site from your customer’s point of view, you can quickly spot trouble areas that will cost you sales. Almost always, these roadblocks are easily overcome with just a few simple changes. Your efforts will be tremendously rewarded with improvements in sales and customer loyalty.
Nina Vaught is cofounder and Director of Usability for Vaught Usability Group where she aids clients in achieving higher website conversion rates by showing them how to make their sites more persuasive and easy for visitors to use. Contact Nina at nina@vaughtusability.com.